Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

A catalogue of Western manuscripts and papyri at Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and selected Cambridge colleges

Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.77

Small medical handbook

Contents

Introduction: The first thing a reader notes about Trinity College MS O.1.77 is its small size. This tiny medical handbook measures 105 x 70 mm (4.13 x 2.76 in), which makes it truly portable in a pocket or a pouch, hanging from the belt. Most of the manuscript is written on paper. Here the paper was likely folded into sixteen sections to produce a 'sextodecimo' (also known as '16mo' and 'sixteenmo'). Paper manuscripts are divided into sizes based on how many times the paper had to be folded. Folio was folded a single time, producing a large and expensive book equivalent of a modern 'coffee-table book'. Quarto and octavo were the two most popular sizes, in which the paper was folded to produce four or eight leaves respectively. The contents of the manuscript are typical for the mid- to late fifteenth century. It contains texts for making diagnoses based on the colour of the patient's urine and the humoral disposition of the patient based on the position of the zodiac. There are texts for making purgative and laxative remedies and no fewer than three texts on the plague, all different versions of a treatise by a fourteenth-century physician John of Burgundy, who wrote the most common plague tract in medieval England and Scotland. The fifteenth century is known as a high time for astrological medicine and alcohol-based medicaments – both of which are well represented in Trinity College MS O.1.77. The manuscript has attracted scholarly interest due to its connections to commercial copying of medical manuscripts in London. The early part of collection consists of an anthology of medical texts that is found in nearly identical order in six manuscripts, known as the Voigts-Sloane Sibling Group (named after Linda Voigts, who first identified them in 1990, and the Sloane Collection in the British Library, where many of the manuscripts are located). The texts in common likely constituted a set group that was used as an exemplar in a workshop engaged in commercial book production. Two other Voigts-Sloane Siblings are also pocket-sized - London, British Library, Sloane MS 3566 and Boston, Countway Library of Medicine, Ballard MS 19 - indicating the existence of a market for these texts in a portable format. However, MS O.1.77 differs from its two pocket-sized siblings by containing additional texts. These include a much longer astrological section and two texts for alcohol-based treatments: an extract from De Vinis, a book on medicinal properties of wines by Arnaldus de Villa Nova (d. 1311) and the Book of Quintessence by John of Rupescissa (d. c. 1365/1370), a text which promises to give instructions on distilling the mysterious fifth element, which has truly remarkable healing qualities (however, the resulting substance seems to be a pure form of alcohol). The latter is copied on parchment rather than paper, though the poor quality suggests that it comprises 'off-cuts', small pieces left over from preparing parchment for book, which were often cheaper than paper. Altogether, these texts enhanced the standard anthology by providing what was considered at the time to be cutting-edge medical treatments. That the book was put to practical use is evidenced by the concentration of wear and tear around pages that advised about diagnosis, such as the coloured urine flasks on ff. 24v-29v. Dr Alpo Honkapohja| Tallinn University|

Language(s): Latin with Middle English

1. [i] verso
List of the contents of the volume
Language(s): Latin with English

Full transcription of contents list on [i] verso: |

  • De digestiuis et laxativis 1
  • Of Urines 21
  • De regimini sanitatis 31
  • De mirabilibus aquae ardentis 48
  • Joannes de Burgundia 532
  • Joannes Burdegalensis 722
  • Contra pestem ignotus 832
  • De 7 planetis ignotus 922
  • Arnoldus de villa nova 137
  • 5ta essentia ignotus 173

In a late 16th or early 17th century hand.

2. [ii] recto
Note on weights and measures in Middle English
Language(s): Middle English

Full transcription of the text on weights and measures in Middle English on f. [ii] recto:| Þo wiȝtes is straunge and harde to knowe y wole titil hem here a povnde is þus writen lj.j. Halfe a povnde þus .lj.ß. Oþer þus lj.dj. A . quartron þus .quart.j. An vnce þus .℥. halfe an vnce þus ℥ß or þus ℥dj , A drame þus ʒj , half a drame . ʒß. or þus. ʒdj. , A scripule þus .℈j. half a scripule þus .℈ß. or þus .℈ dj. A scripule weieþ a peny . and iije scripules ben a drame . and viij drames a vnce . and xvj vnces make a povnde , And an handful is writen þus mj. and halfe an handful þus . mß. or þus .mdj. etc

The scribe writes the 'ounce' siglum in a style that resembles a Hindu-Arabic '2' more than the traditional form.

Voigts noted similar versions of this text in:

IMEP 11, p. 84 (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.77, no. *[1])
For a discussion of this text (but not this MS) see L.E. Voigts, 'The Character of the Carecter: Ambiguous Sigils', in Latin and Vernacular: Studies in Late-Medieval Texts and Manuscripts, ed. by A. J. Minnis, York Manuscripts Conferences: Proceedings Series, 1: Proceedings of the 1987 York Manuscripts Conference (Cambridge: Brewer, 1989), pp. 91–109, esp. p. 102, n. 38 and Table III no. 17
3. [ii] recto - [ii] verso
Medical recipes in Latin
Language(s): Latin

Two medical recipes for jaundice ('ictericia')

4. [iii] recto
Medical recipes in Middle English and Latin
Language(s): Middle English and Latin

Full transcription of recipe on ff. [iii] recto:| ¶ þis plaster is gode for a manis legge or fote dissesid . which is cousid of cold ad rectificandum epat et ad illud conseruandum ab adustacione et inflacione ℞ .lj.j. de suger loof iiij cocliaria plenua de saudres et iiij cocliaria plena de shawyng of yuery . and bete þe yuery to smale pouder ⟨f. [iii] recto ⟩ in a morter and putte somme of þe suger with al and after for ellis it wille not be beten and after þat . put al in a vessel and menge it together and bete it to pouder til it be sotel . and take ha di sponeful . or a sponeful at ones þerof by day time . or nyȝt tyme as þe semeþ nede etc

Also printed in IMEP 11, p. 157 (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.77, no. *[A35])
5. [iii] recto
Medical recipes in Middle English and Latin
Language(s): Middle English and Latin

Full transcription of recipe on ff. [iii] recto:| ffor to kepe a man fro costifnesse ℞ . vnces .ij. pulueris de sene . dragmas .iij. de aneys . dragmas .iij. of gynger . dragmas .iij. of sinamon .iiij caintur coterantur in puluerem et misceantur recipiatur inde coclear vnum plenum l di cocliarium ut opertet et ponatur in potagio et sumatur et absorbeatur cum potagio antequam aliquid aliud comeatur[sic] comedatur et bomum ducet et operetur

J. Norri Names of Sicknesses in English 1400-1550: An Exploration of the Lexical Field (Helsinki, 1992), no. 316
Also printed in IMEP 11, p. 157 (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.77, no. *[A36])
6. 1r-20v
Manipulus medicinae
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 1r Incipit manipulum medicine de digestiuis et laxatiuis
Incipit: 1r Omne enim corpus humanum cum sit ex quatuor humoribus compositum scilicet ex sanguine colera fleumate et malencolia qui dum in bona uigent disposicione
Explicit: 20v Idem facit triaca . Et iam amplius non loquar . sed clarifica deum in hijs que audiste
Final rubric: 20v Explicit manupulum[sic] medicine de digestiuis et laxatiuis

Upper margin of f. 1r: 'ihc' and 'Ihesu miserere : maria adiuua'.

Also in Cambridge, Gonville and Caius, MS 336/725, ff. 137v-141r .

eTK 0982F (t0188460000)
See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
7. 21r-29v
Practica urinarum
Language(s): Middle English with Latin rubric
Rubric: 21r Iam incipit practica vrinarum . Sequit[sic] de distincione etc visiana vrinarum
Incipit: 21r It is to vnderstonde who so wil loke an vryn hym behoueth to considere thre thynges
Explicit: 29v Circulus 7us . White grauel betokeneth þe stone in the bladder . blacke grauell betokeneþ ache in þe rigge bytwene the kydney and þe reynes Water ful of smalle thredis betokeneþ drye complexioun and aposteme in þe riȝt side . Skales as it were of fysshis betokeneþ stopping of floueris and stable in þe matrice
Final rubric: 29v Explicit practica vrinarum

Also in Cambridge, Gonville and Caius, MS 336/725, ff. 141v-144r .

Also in Boston, Countway Library of Medicine, Ballard MS 19 (see Harley (1982)).

M.P. Harley, 'The Middle English Contents of a Fifteenth-Century Medical Handbook', Mediaevalia, 8 (1982), 171–88 [not using this manuscript]
See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
8. 29v-30v
Expositiones colorum urinarum
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 29v Iam incipiunt exposiciones vrinarum in ordine
Incipit: 30r Color rubeus est quasi flamma ignis
Explicit: 30v Glaucus debet esse ut cornu lucidum
Final rubric: 30v Expliciunt expositiones colorum

Also in Cambridge, Gonville and Caius, MS 336/725, ff. 144v .

Contains an interesting interlinear gloss in a contemporary hand on f. 30r, 'id est orangie' over 'pomi citrini'.

See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
eTK 0235B (t0045010000)
9. 31r-48r
Tractatus nobilis de regimine sanitatis Pseudo-Aristotle
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 31r Incipit tractatus nobilis de regimine sanitatis
Incipit: 31r Aristotiles autem scribens Alexandro magno ait O. alexander . cum sit homo corpus corruptibile visum est mihi scribere vtilia ex secretis artis medicine
Explicit: 47v-48r si non desistant quod percussionem non euadent . quia sicut aqua extinguit ignem . ita et crudus humor calorem naturalem .
Final rubric: 48r Explicit nobilis tractatus de regimine sanitatis

Also in Cambridge, Gonville and Caius, MS 336/725, ff. 144v-148v .

See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
eTK 0135M (t0025880000)
10. 48r-53v
Tractatus de mirabilibus aquae
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 48r Incipit tractatus de mirabilibus aque ardentis rectificate
Incipit: 48r Ab origine mundi vniuersa naturaliter phisicancium multitudo indagare non desijt circa laxatiuas tria inuenire
Explicit: 53v limature auri carni . ambra . ana ℥.ß fiat
Final rubric: 53v Iam multum aperui tibi de occulto seu secreto ad laudem et gloriam ihesu christi

Also in Cambridge, Gonville and Caius, MS 336/725, ff. 148v-149r .

See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
11. 53v-72v
Tractatus de morbo epidemiae (Latin) John of Burgundy
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 53v Incipit tractatus magistri Johannis de Burgundia de epidemia
Incipit: 53v-54r Ego Johannes de Burgundia di⟨ui⟩no auxilio inuocato preseruacionem et curam epidemie enucleare intendo vt vix aliquis phisico indigeat sed vnusquisque phisicus sibi ipsi sit preseruator curator ac rector
Explicit: 72r Et quia illi morbi sunt breuis terminacionis et materia furiosa quod illico fiat minucio est consilium meum et quod ab ilia minucione diu non sit expectandum quia multociens mora trahit periculum
Final rubric: 72rv non pro precio sed pro precibus hoc opus egi et compilaui . vt cum quis conualuerit a morbis supradictis pro me ad dominum deum nostrum efficater oret . Cui sit laus et gloria per totius mundi climata et per infinita seculorum secula Amen. Explicit nobilis tractatus magistri Johannis de Burgundia contra morbum epidemialem .

Also in Cambridge, Gonville and Caius, MS 336/725, ff. 149v-153r .

See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
12. 72v-83r
Tractatus de morbo epidemiae (Middle English) John of Burgundy
Language(s): Middle English with Latin rubric
Rubric: 72v-73r Iam incipit tractatus Johannis de Burdegalia extractus in lingua anglicana contra morbum pestilencialem siue epidemialem
Incipit: 73r Here begynneth a noble tretys made of a good fisician John of bordeus for al dictus J. de barba . for medycyne ageyn þe pestilence euyl . And it is departid in iiije chapiters
Explicit: 83r And who so is þeryn do by tyme . and reule him as þe oþer chapitres of þis tretis techyn hym . and þorough þe grace of god he schalle be from þis sekenes kepid and delyuered
Final rubric: 83r Explicit tractatus J. de barba editus contra morbum pestilencialem

Also in Cambridge, Gonville and Caius, MS 336/725, ff. 149v-153r .

Also in Boston, Countway Library of Medicine, Ballard MS 19 (see Harley (1982)).

M.P. Harley, 'The Middle English Contents of a Fifteenth-Century Medical Handbook', Mediaevalia, 8 (1982), 171–88 [not using this manuscript]
See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
13. 83v-92r
Exhortatio bona contra morbum pestilencialem
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 83v Et subsequenter incipit exortacio bona conta morbum pestilencialem siue epidemiale
Incipit: 83v Dilectissime frater ut intellexi multum times pro instanti pestilencia quasi in ipsa es moriturus et non euasurus
Explicit: 92r Viij parte primi fiant pilule cum aqua morelle et scabiose et voluantur in puluere cinamomi et quilibet ad quantitatem pise et modicum maior
Final rubric: 92r Explicit exhortacio contra pestilenc⟨ialem⟩

Also in Cambridge, Gonville and Caius, MS 336/725, ff. 155v-157v .

See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
14. 92r-94r
De condicionibus septem planetarum
Language(s): Middle English with Latin rubric and headwords
Rubric: 92r Et modo incipit de condicionibus vijtem planetarum
Incipit: 92v Sol . Who so is borne whan he regneth he shal be fulle of fleische and fayre of face brode teeþ aboue in his mouþe and wide fayre eyen a good counceloure fayre of speche helper of goodnes putter downe of euyl
Explicit: 94r ars . Who so is born vndir þis planete he shal be hasty wraþful debatous violent vntrewe enuyous riche and false proude and vngracious .
Final rubric: 94r Explicit de condicionibus plan⟨etarum⟩

Also in Boston, Countway Library of Medicine, Ballard MS 19 (see Harley (1982)).

M.P. Harley, 'The Middle English Contents of a Fifteenth-Century Medical Handbook', Mediaevalia, 8 (1982), 171–88 [not using this manuscript]
See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
15. 94r-97v
De signis sumptis per lunam in quo signo zodiaci sit
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 94rv De signis sumptis per lunam in quo signo zodiaci sit et quod signum cuius membri habet predunacionem
Incipit: 94v Alia enim bona et vitalis est pronosticacio vt sciat medicus in quo signo zodiaci luna fuerit omni die
Explicit: 97v Pisces est signum frigidum et humidum et respicit pedes caue ab incisione in ille
Final rubric: 97v Explicit etcetera

Folio 95v: 'Zodiac man' illustration

See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
16. 97v-101r
Ad inveniendum planetam
Language(s): Latin
16.1. 97v-99r
Preface to the tables
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 97v Regula signorum
Incipit: 98r Si quis inuenire uoluerit in quo signo et in quo gradu signi fit luna omni die sciat primo signum in quo luna soli coniungebatur et diem coniunctionis per nouum kalendrium(?)
Explicit: 99r et in totali gradu .s. quotus erat numerus residuus vltra 30ta . et sic habebit locum lune que uoluerit

Similar text in Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Pal. Lat. 1384, ff. 6v-7r .

eTK 1461A (t0279430000)
16.2. 99r-101r
Tabula ad inveniendum planetum
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 99r Tabula signorum
See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
17. 101v-102v
De distinctione temporum
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 101v De distinctione temporum
Incipit: 101v Notandum quod diuerse sunt distinctiones temporum scilicet etas
Explicit: 102v Atthomus vero non potest diuidi propter sui breuitatem . et dicitur ab .a. quod est siue et thomos diuiusio . quasi siue diuisione
eTK 0950F (0182940000)
See L.E. Voigts, 'The "Sloane Group": Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection', The British Library Journal, 16.1 (1990), 26–57, esp. pp. 52-53
18. 103r-103v
De septem mocione planetarum
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 103r De septem mocione planetarum
Incipit: 103r Luna mouetur in signo in hora .32. minute et 56.secundi. 130 tercie
Explicit: 103v signum diuiditur in 30a gradus et quilibet gradus continem(?) spacium .55. miliarium . Gradus dicitur illud spacium per quod sol consumit diem naturalem
Explicit: 104v sic planeta in oppisito sue domus habet detrimentum sue fortitudinis
eTK 0836H (t0161290000)
19. 103v-104v
Extract from Lectio VII of the Commentary on Johannes de Sacro Bosco, Tractatus de sphaera Robertus Anglicus
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 103v Sciendum est quod quilibet planeta habet virtutem forciorem in domo quam potest habere in celo
Explicit: 104r-104v Et sciendum quod sicut planeta in sua domo habet fortitudinem ; sic planeta in oppisito sue domus habet detrimentum sue fortitudinis

Extract from Lectio VII of the Commentary of Johannes de Sacro Bosco Tractatus de sphera. See Thorndike, The Sphere of Sacrobosco and Its Commentators, esp. p. 169, 'Ad evidentiam eorum que prius sunt tacta ... Et primo sciendum est quod quilibet planeta ... sic in opposito sue domus habet detrimentum sue fortitudinis'

Begins abruptly and without a significant flourished initial; this text and the previous may have been envisaged as a single item by the medieval scribe.

Edited (not from this MS) and discussed in L. Thorndike, The Sphere of Sacrobosco and Its Commentators (Chicago, 1949)
20. 104v-109r
Treatise on the planets
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 104v Hec Lincol⟨ensis⟩
Incipit: 104v Quicumque cursum lune scire desiderat ; sciat primo quomodo sol per signa radit . Vnde Tholomeus . Inter has septem planetas ; sol quasi rex existit . quia locatur in medio . tres videlicet planetam(?) habet supra se .6. saturnum, iouis, et martem . et tres alias habet sub se positas . videlicet Venerem . mercurium et lunam . et est tanquam fons luminis et colorem . cuncta illuminat et calefacit super se posita et sub se ordinata.
Explicit: 109r Taurus . virgo . capricornus . terra frigida rea australia meridionale malen et sicca colica , Geminius . libra . aquarius calidi et humidi aeria . occidentalia . sanguinea

Attributed to Robert Grosseteste ('Hec Lincol⟨ensis⟩') in the rubric.

Text is probably defective, with a quire probably missing between ff. 105v and f. 106r, the boundary between the present Quires 13 and 14. The catchwords at the bottom of f. 105v ('a sole vte folium') do not match the opening words of f. 106r, 'in kalendario', and the medieval alphanumeric leaf signatures are disrupted at the boundary between Quires 13 and 14; the first (cancelled) sequence jumps from 'S' (Quire 13) to 'V' (Quire 14) omitting 'T', and the second sequence jumps from 'n' (Quire 13) to 'p' (Quire 14) omitting 'o'.

Other similar texts: Erfurt, Universitätsbibliothek Erfurt, Dep. Erf., CA 4° 385, ff. 159r-162r , and London, Wellcome Library, MS 537, ff. 318v-319v , the Wellcome manuscript and Trinity MS O.1.77 diverge at the end of Trinity MS O.1.77 f. 105v.

eTK 1236I (t0237510000)
21. 109r-119v
Treatise on the planets
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 109r CVm luna fuerit in ariete signo mobili orientali calido et sicco igneo colerico et masculinis \atque appetibili/ ; bonum est iter versus orientem incipere et in illam partem ad mercandum ire
Explicit: 119r pedes et omnes partes eorum et quicquid fit de igne uel cum igne , Tempus dat aquosum frigidi[sic] et humidum

This text is largely concerned with the influence of the moon in conjunction with the various signs of the zodiac: there is a section for the moon in combination with each zodiac sign, starting with Aries, but the section for Aquarius seems to have been omitted from this copy of the text.

It is possible that this text belongs with the previous text beginning 'Quicumque cursum lune scire desiderat ...' on f. 104v; a similar text can be found in Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 6860, ff. 77v-80r, with the rubric 'canones lune' and with the opening '⟨Q⟩Vicumque cursum lune scire voluerit . sciat primo quomodo sol per signa vadit . Sol namque in quolibet anno pertransit omnia signa ...', but the CUL MS Add. 6860 text diverges from the MS O.1.77 text after the first sentence. The text in MS O.1.77, although apparently deficient, seems to have been originally copied with a longer preface than the version in CUL MS Add. 6860 as the two texts converge once again and follow each other closely at Trinity College, MS O.1.77, f. 109r line 5, 'CVm luna fuerit in ariete signo mobili orientali calido et sicco igneo colerico et masculinis \atque appetibili/ ; bonum est iter versus orientem incipere ...' and CUL MS Add. 6860, f. 78r, line 8, '⟨C⟩Vm luna fuerit in arriete signo firmo orientali calido et sic igneo colerico et masculo bonunm est iter versus orientem incipere ...'. The two manuscripts are aligned thereafter, with further paragraphs on the influence of the moon in each sign of the zodiac, although MS O.1.77 omits the paragraph on the influence of the moon in Aquarius. The text in CUL MS Add. 6860, f. 80r ends (ll. 6-7) 'pedes et omnes eorum partes et quicquid fit cum igne uel de igne vis facere . Tempus dat aquosum frigidum et humidum . Explicit'

Similar text (without possible preface Trinity College MS O.1.77, ff. 104v-109r) in  Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Urb. Lat. 1398, ff. 23r-24v ; in BAV MS Urb. Lat. 1398 the text has the title 'Incipit tractatus de operationibus lune secundum disposicionem signorum'.

Other similar texts: Erfurt, Universitätsbibliothek Erfurt, Dep. Erf., CA 4° 385, ff. 159r-162r , and London, Wellcome Library, MS 537, ff. 318v-319v , the Wellcome manuscript and Trinity MS O.1.77 diverge at the end of Trinity MS O.1.77 f. 105v.

eTK 1236I (t0237510000)
22. 119r-122r
Treatise on the moon
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 119r Quomodo vna luna est xxx dierum et alia xxix quod sic patet
Explicit: 122r Scilicet in quolibet signo moratur sol per xxx bisse momenti . in per bina(?) partem triginta momentorum .s. per xx momenta etc
23. 122r-137r
Treatise on the seven planets
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 122r Also Tholome in þe Almegestealmenake reherseth þat þe zodiake of heuen is a grete cercle seide in þe viij or in þe ixe spere of þe firmament
Explicit: 136v And as clerkes seyn aboue þis heuen is no þinge . It is callid fyry be cause it semyþal fyre of grete myȝt , but ȝitte it brenneþ not but it shenyþ moore cleere and bryȝte as brennyng fyre. ne it meueth not but stondiþ fixe and stille , and it is is seide goddis owen sete and see . to þe whichsee bringe vs he ; that for vs died vppon þe rode tre Amen
Final rubric: 136v-137r Explicit In dei nomine Amen
Edited and discussed A. Honkapohja, 'The Trinity Seven Planets', Scholarly Editing, 34 (2013)
24. 137r-171r
Liber de vinis Arnaldus de Villanova
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 137r Incipit tractatus Vinorum diuersorum ad diuersas infirmitates . editus a magistro Reynaldo de Villa noua
24.1. 137rv
Prologue to the Liber de vinis Arnaldus de Villanova
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 137r Prohemium
Incipit: 137r Quoniam vinum album inter cetera alia
Explicit: 137v et medicinales confectiones in eo fiende sunt ad honorem sacre maiestate regee adiuuant(?)
24.2. 137v-171r
Main text of the Liber de vinis Arnaldus de Villanova
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 137v Primus modus conficendi
Incipit: 137v Modus autem confeccionis excorporacionis rerum que vino ad miscentur est triplex
Explicit: 171r Et iuuamentum quidem vinorum . augetur et minuitur secundum bonitatem ligni visis et malicie . inde est quod vinum conseruatum in vase de tamaricijs confert spleni
Final rubric: 171r Explicit tractatus vinorum
eTK 0879D (t0169830000)
25. 171v-173r
Extract from Liber de vinis Arnaldus de Villanova
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 171v Vinum extinctionis auri . hoc vinum habet proprietatem magnam in condicionibus multis
Explicit: 173r Et breuiter omnem vinum suscipit virtutem et operacionem rerum que exuirtuam ... in eo secudum multos iam dictos (?)
eTK 1697L (t0323280000)
26. 173r-199v
Quinta essentia Johannes de Rupescissa
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 173r Incipit tractatus de consideracione 5te essencie quarundarum rerum transmutabilium in nomine domini nostri ihesum christi amen
Incipit: 173r Indago celi quinte essencie
Explicit: 199v altissimus ad conseruacionem 4or qualitatum humani corporis ; sicut celum ad conseruacionem totius mundi . quam concedat altissimus ; qui est trinus et vnus
Final rubric: 199v amen

Contains extensive marginal corrections and annotations.

eTK 0741K (t0142750000)
27. 200r
Astronomical note on a conjunction with a calculation for a date in 1460
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 200r Regula pro coniunctionem solis et lune(?) z zotandum quod anno domini millesimo ccccmo.lxmo. coniunccio solis et lune
Explicit: 200r coniunctio alias die sequitur
eTK 0949L (t0182840000)
27. 200v
Note on the influences of the planets
Language(s): Middle English

Full transcription of the note on the influence of the planets on f. 200v: | The course of þe planete Saturne is on sonday . and he regneþ ouer þe spele and þe lyver , The course of þe planete Iubiter is on monday . and he regneþ ouer þe mylte , The course of mars is on twisday . and he regneþ ouer þe galle , The course of þe Sonne is on wendisday and he regneþ ouer þe herte ouer þe l The course of þe planete Venus is on þursday and he regneth ouer þe lunges , The course of mercury is on fryday . he regneþ ouer þe mydryf and þe galle , The course of þe mone is on saturday . he ouer þe stomake and þe guttes ;

Also printed in IMEP 11, p. 85 (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.77, no *[6])

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 2r: ducantur ad consistencias deteriores
Form: codex
Support: Paper folded in sextodecimo and parchment arranged as follows:
  • Two post-medieval endleaves (ff. [a]-[b]): paper
  • Three medieval endleaves: two parchment (ff. [i]-[ii]) and one paper (ff. [iii])
  • Quires 1-25 (ff. 1-195): paper (watermark details below)
  • Quire 26 (ff. 196-202): parchment
  • Two post-medieval endleaves (ff. [c]-[d])): paper
 |For leaves ff. ff. 1-195 the following watermark information was described by A. Honkapohja, see p. 44 for further information: Folios 1-8 and mounts in Quires 23-25 (ff. 172-195): Unicorn's Head. Folios 9-16: Circle with Three Hills (Heawood 67). Folios 17-171: Bull's Head with St Andrew's Cross (Heawood 18).
Extent: Codex: ii + 3 + 204 + ii leaves. 105 × 75 mm.
Foliation:

Foliation in use in this record produced for the Curious Cures in Cambridge Libraries Project: ?16th century foliation sequence for core leaves with later additions and corrections, particularly of endleaves.

[a]-[b] + [i]-[iii] + 1-27, 29-138, 138a-169, 169a-170, 170a-202 + [c]-[d]

The majority of the core leaves are foliated in ink as ff. 1-27 29-138 138-169 169-170 170-173 (for ff. 1-27 29-138 138a-173) in a ?16th century hand in the upper outer corner of each recto. The ink foliation sequence was continued by a pencil foliator who added the remaining designations ff. 174-202 to the upper outer corner of the remaining rectos. Another pencil foliator correctedthe duplicate designations in the ink foliation by adding a postpositive 'a' to the second of the duplicate designations (i.e., ff. 138a, 169a and 170a).
  • The folio designations of the core leaves (ff. 1-202) follow the designations written on the upper outer corner of each recto, including the use of ff. 138a, 169a, and 170a to differentiate between duplicate designations. The designation f. 28 is skipped in this record following the accidental omission of this designation by the ink foliator
  • The medieval parchment endleaves have the designations ff. [i] - [iii] in this record
  • The early modern paper endleaves have the designations ff. [a]=[b] and [c]-[d]

Collation

A small, tightly bound volume arranged as described below. The volume has been conserved, and all quires have been taken down and remounted on guardstrips at an unknown time; these guard strips are visible at the boundaries between the quires. Folios [i] and [ii] are parchment, and [iii] is paper. Quires 1-25 are paper, and Quire 26 is parchment.

A quire has almost certainly been lost between the present Quires 13 and 14 (i.e., between the present ff. 105v and f. 106r) as the medieval alphanumeric leaf sequences are disrupted at the boundary between these quires; there are two medieval alphanumeric leaf sequences in this volume, the first (cancelled) sequence jumps from 'S' (Quire 13) to 'V' (Quire 14) omitting 'T', and the second sequence jumps from 'n' (Quire 13) to 'p' (Quire 14) omitting 'o'. In addition, the catchwords at the bottom of f. 105v ('a sole vte folium') do not match the opening words of f. 106r, 'in kalendario'.

The leaves in MS O.1.77 are arranged as follows:

  • Two post-medieval paper endleaves (ff. [a]-[b]) +
  • Three medieval endleaves - two parchment, 1 paper (ff. [i]-[iii]) +
  • Quires 1-148 (ff. 1-113)
  • Quire 158-1 (ff. 114-120: 8th leaf cancelled)
  • Quires 16-198 (ff. 121-151)
  • Quire 208-1 (ff. 152-158: ?8th leaf cancelled)
  • Quire 2110-2 (ff. 159-166: 9th and 10th leaves cancelled)
  • Quire 228-1 (ff. 167-169, 169a-170, 170a-171: ?8th leaf cancelled)
  • Quires 23-258 (ff. 172-195)
  • Quire 268-1 (ff. 196-202: ?8th leaf cancelled)
  • Two postmedieval paper endleaves (ff. [c]-[d])

Two post-medieval paper endleaves (ff. [a]-[b]) + three medieval endleaves (ff. [i]-[iii]) + 1-148 158-1 (8th leaf cancelled) 16-198 208-1 (?8th leaf cancelled) 2110-2 (9th and 10th cancelled) 228-1 (?8th leaf cancelled) 23-258 268-1 (?8th leaf cancelled) two postmedieval paper endleaves (ff. [c]-[d])

Two sets of medieval alphanumeric leaf signatures (letter + roman numeral, i.e, ai-aiiij, bi-biiij etc) present in the lower outer corner of the rectos in the the first half of most quires, both sequences appear to have been added by the same scribe. Most of the signatures in the first sequence have been cancelled by being struck out, but are still legible. Some designations undoubtedly lost due to trimming. Probably one quire lost between Quires 13 and 14 (see Collation). The remaining designations for the two sequences are as follows:

  • c for Quire 3 (formerly h)
  • d for Quire 4 (formerly j)
  • e for Quire 5 (formerly k)
  • f for Quire 6 (formerly l)
  • g for Quire 7 (formerly m)
  • h for Quire 8 (formerly N)
  • j for Quire 9 (formerly O)
  • k for Quire 10 (formerly P)
  • l for Quire 11 (formerly Q)
  • m for Quire 12 (formerly R)
  • n for Quire 13 (formerly S)
  • p for Quire 14 (formerly V)
  • q for Quire 15 (formerly X)
  • r for Quire 16 (formerly y)
  • s for Quire 17 (formerly z)
  • t for Quire 18 (formerly ?7 (?Tironian et))
  • V for Quire 19 (formerly ?9.2. (i.e. 'con-' '-rum'))
  • X for Quire 20 (formerly ∴)
  • Y for Quire 21 (formerly ⁘)
  • ζ for Quire 22

No leaf or quire signatures present after Quire 22 for either the old or new sequence.

Catchwords present in the lower inner corner of the last verso of most quires. Most catchwords are enclosed in a simple rectangular frame and some have been partially damaged due to trimming.

Condition

In fair condition. Some leaves partially damaged due to liquids. Some marginal annotations and catchwords damaged or lost due to later trimming, see e.g., catchword 'membra' on f. 166v. Some marginal flourishes attached to decorative initials lost to later trimming, see e.g., f. 101v.

Layout

80 × 60 mm. Folios [ii] recto - [iii] recto informally written with no visible ruling, typically 18 lines to the page.

70 × 45 mm. Folios 1r-202v: Ruled in leadpoint and drypoint (drypoint possibly transferred impression from leadpoint ruling), frame only. Written in single-column format, typically 14 lines to the page and written mostly below top line (see e.g., f. 124r, drypoint ruled), but occasionally above top line (see e.g., f. 98r, drypoint ruled).

Hand(s)

Main-text spaces of folios 1r-199v written in anglicana by Honkapohja 'Hand A'. Honkapohja summarised previous comments on this scribe and noted that M.R. James describes the work of this scribe as 'roughly written', and Voigts described the hand as 'pointed'. Honkapohja also believes this scribe to be responsible for the rubrics written in a more formal grade of anglicana throughout the volume. See Honkapohja (2013) for a detailed analysis of this scribe's work in this manuscript.

'Hand A' uses single- and double-compartment a, looped ascenders on b, d, h, and l and multiple forms of s. The letter h has an elongated 'leg' or second minim that drops well below the baseline. The letter y has a long diagonal descender with a tail that terminates with a flick to the right.

M.R. James, The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge: A Descriptive Catalogue, Volume III (Cambridge, 1902)
See IMEP 11, pp. 84-85 and 157 (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.77 *[1], *[6], *[A35] *[A36]
A. Honkapohja, 'The Trinity Seven Planets', Scholarly Editing, 34 (2013)

Middle English and macronic texts on ff. [ii] recto, [ii] verso, [iii] recto and 200v all written in anglicana; Mooney suggests these three texts may be the work of the same scribe. This scribe is Honkapohja 'Hand B'. Honkapohja also identified this hand in the marginal annotation on f. 127v. See Honkapohja (2013) for a detailed analysis of this scribe's work in this manuscript. Honkapohja states that the letterforms of Hands A and B are 'very similar', but also notes that one distinguishing feature is that 'Hand B uses the kidney-shaped s in word-final position, which is never used by Hand A'.

See IMEP 11, pp. 84-85 and 157 (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.77 *[1], *[6], *[A35] *[A36]
A. Honkapohja, 'The Trinity Seven Planets', Scholarly Editing, 34 (2013)

Decoration

Folios 24v-27r: the 'Twenty Jordans' illustrated sequence of urine flask diagnostic indications.

Folio 178v: simple diagram of a ?distillation flask in the outer margin

Folio 95v: a 'Zodiac Man' diagram, the man rendered in text-ink and the zodiac labels written in red.

Folio 1r: Large puzzle initial 'O'(mne) in red blue and taupe (perhaps faded folium) with marginal flourishing extended into a full page frame. Smaller flourished initials, typically blue initials in the 'Lombardic' style 2-3 lines high with red internal and marginal flourishing and occasional taupe (perhaps faded folium) flourishes throughout at the major and minor divisions of the texts.

Rubrication throughout at the major and minor divisions of the texts generally by underlining headings and sub-headings in red. Minor divisions within the texts also indiciated by touching the first initial with red.

Guide letters in dark ink occasionally present within the matrix of a decorative initial, see e.g., f. 97v, 'Pisces' with a small guide letter 'p' visible within the decorative letter 'P'.

Additions

Two former classmarks in ink in different hands on f. i recto 'L.3' and '3.7.4'.

A name in ink on f. i recto in a 16th century hand, the first name 'John' easily legible, the second name partially erased, but readable as 'Brownin' (for ?Browning) under UV, perhaps the name of a former owner. A number 'xxii' below, perhaps in the same hand.

Trinity College Library stamp in ink on f. i recto.

Binding

Quarter-bound in ?tawed skin with paper sides over paste- or mill-boards. No raised bands on spine. Spine capped at head and tail by back-material, no headbands visible.

Paper pastedowns at each end of the volume. The front pastedown contains the present shelfmark 'O.7.37' written in pencil and a Trinity College armorial bookplate.

Two post-medieval paper endleaves, ff. [a]-[b] at the front of the volume and two post-medieval paper endleaves at the rear of the volume, f. [c]-[d] at the rear of the volume; all post-medieval paper endleaves probably contemporary with the binding and all blank.

Dimensions (L x W x H): 110 x 75 x 45 mm

Traces of a former binding (probably the original 15th-century binding) present in oxidation stains on ff. [i] and ff. 201-202. The original binding of MS O.1.77 probably included a strap-and-pin closure, which was not a particularly fashionable style of book-fastening in 15th-century England, but may have been necessary for this volume due to its unusual proportions. There is a small round hole in the centre of both ff. 201-202, and the edge of the hole is stained green - this is indicative of a brass pin plate having been mounted at the centre of the rear board of the former binding. There is a small abrasion stained green and a slightly rectanglar impresion in the parchment directly under the '77' on f. [i] recto indicative of a strap with a metal enclosure mounted in the centre of the fore edge of the former front board. The traces of the strap and the pin plate are aligned across the volume.

History

Origin: c. 1450-1465. ; England, probably London.

Date of production based on palaeographical features. The volume almost certainly existed in or before 1459/1460 as 'Scribe B' added an astrological calculation for the year 1459 to the margin of f. 127v and another calculation for 1460 to f. 200r. Place of production based on palaeographical features and relation of the volume to others in the so-called Voigts-Sloane Group. See A. Honkapohja, esp. pp. 43-46 for further information.

A. Honkapohja, Alchemy, Medicine, and Commercial Book Production: A Codicological and Linguistic Study of the Voigts-Sloane Manuscript Group, Texts and Transitions (Turnhout: Brepols, 2017), IX

Provenance and Acquisition

Perhaps owned by John Dee (b. 1527, d. 1608), English mathematician and court astronomer at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Dee was a prolific collector of manuscripts and printed books and amassed a substantial personal library in his lifetime. A mark in ink on f. [i] recto (above and to the left of 'L. 3') strongly resembles a mark identified by M.R. James in Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.8.5, front flyleaf 5r as a 'monogram, seemingly JD'. Roberts and Watson reject James' identification of the monogram, but suggest that the occasional marginal annotations (found particularly in the latter half of the volume) may be in Dee's hand. The mark warrants further investigation. This volume does not appear to be one of the unidentified volumes listed in Dee's Library Catalogue ( Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.4.20 and printed as an annotated facsimile by Roberts and Watson, but Roberts and Watson identify more than 160 manuscripts owned by Dee and not included in the MS O.4.20 catalogue, so absence from that catalogue cannot be relied upon to (dis)prove ownership.

M.R. James, The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College Cambridge - A Descriptive Catalogue: Volume III: Containing An Account of the Manuscripts Standing in Class O (Cambridge, 1902), p. 391, no. 1380
J. R. Roberts, and A. G. Watson, John Dee’s Library Catalogue (London: Bibliographical Society, 1990)

Owned by Roger Gale (1672-1744) , who acquired the volume from an unknown source.

Presented to Trinity College Cambridge in 1738 by Roger Gale (1672-1744) .

Additional Information

Record Sources

This record draws on M.R. James, The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge: A Descriptive Catalogue, Volume III (Cambridge, 1902); A. Honkapohja, 'The Trinity Seven Planets', Scholarly Editing, 34 (2013); and A. Honkapohja, Alchemy, Medicine, and Commercial Book Production: A Codicological and Linguistic Study of the Voigts-Sloane Manuscript Group, Texts and Transitions (Turnhout: Brepols, 2017), IX. Readers of this record are encouraged to consult these works for further information.

Availability

Visitors to Trinity College who wish to consult Special Collections material are required to apply to the Library in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Trinity College: Information for Readers.

Bibliography

    The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge: A Descriptive Catalogue, James, M.R. (Cambridge, 3, Cambridge University Press, 1902) Catalogue of Latin and vernacular plague texts in Great Britain and Eire in manuscripts written before the sixteenth century, Singer, Dorothea WaleyAnderson, Annie (Paris; London, Académie internationale d'Histoire des Sciences; William Heinemann Medical Books, 1950) The Middle English Contents of a Fifteenth-Century Medical Handbook Mediaevalia, Harley, Marta Powell (8, 171-188, 1982) The Character of the Carecter: Ambiguous Sigils Latin and Vernacular: Studies in Late-Medieval Texts and Manuscripts York Manuscripts Conferences: Proceedings Series, Voigts, Linda Ehrsam (Cambridge, 91-109, Brewer, 1989) The 'Sloane Group': Related Scientific and Medical Manuscripts from the Fifteenth Century in the Sloane Collection The British Library Journal, Voigts, Linda Ehrsam (16, 1, 26-57, 1990) Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge Index of Middle English prose, Mooney, Linne R. (Woodbridge, D.S. Brewer, 1995) What’s the Word? Bilingualism in Late-Medieval England Speculum, Voigts, Linda Ehrsam (71, 4, 813-826, 1996) The Master of the King's Stillatories The Lancastrian Court Harlaxton Medieval Studies, Voigts, Linda Ehrsam (Donington, 233-252 and plates 59-65, Shaun Tyas, 2003) The Twenty-Jordan Series: An Illustrated Middle English Uroscopy Text ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews, Tavormina, M. Teresa (18, 3, 43-67, 2005, https://doi.org/10.3200/ANQQ.18.3.43) The Trinity Seven Planets Scholarly Editing, Honkapohja, Alpo (34, 2013) Uroscopy in Middle English: A Guide to the Texts and Manuscripts Studies in medieval and renaissance history, Tavormina, M. Teresa ([Michigan?], 2014) Alchemy, Medicine, and Commercial Book Production: A Codicological and Linguistic Study of the Voigts-Sloane Manuscript Group Texts and Transitions, Honkapohja, Alpo (Turnhout, 9, Brepols, 2017) “Latin in recipes?” A corpus approach to scribal abbreviations in 15th-century medical manuscripts Multilingual Practices in Language History, Honkapohja, Alpo (Berlin; Boston, 243-272, De Gruyter, 2017, https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501504945-012/html)

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